On the one I closed it was a foreign national and I went back and forth with them about how the borrower doesn't have a US credit score. 

Most of foreign forums don't :)However, thank you for the compliment, I'm trying to practice my English every day, so that when I need to deal with foreigners I have means of communication and it's always good to hear that native speakers understand me :)Back on topic, I am not aware of any tax advantages, however I believe that even in this country good offers can be found, one only has to know where to look.

The US is the #1 country for foreign investors in real estate. 6 of the top 10 locations are in FL rounding the list is NYC, Phoenix, Vegas and Honolulu. 

Irrevocable Trusts, family limited partnerships, and if enough money is involved Foreign Asset Protect Trusts come to mind.

Detroit as you well know is a very special place and there has been an EXTREME amount of financial Sociopathic behavour there. .IE bying houses for 5k doing nothing to them selling them to unsuspecting foreigners fo r50k... but that activity also took place in the Fraser area of Memphis I got hits from many Aussies that some nice Memphis TK guy racked them over the coals... to me its unconcienable but it is what it is and CAVEOT EMPTOR is alive and well in this side of the industry

@Arthur RoyaleThere are several domestic and foreign economist along with the Governor of the Bank of Canada who have publicly conjectured that the CAD could test, and perhaps exceed, its all time low of $0.6179 USD (January 21, 2002) in the next 12 - 18 months.We have a cash reserve in USD and have preset instructions to convert a portion of it back to CAD should that occur.Take a search trough BP for Moncton, Fredericton, Saint John and Halifax and you will find a handful of threads where I and others have discussed apartments.  

Basically it is on everybody's radar and people make it a priority to make sure everything sells for FULL PRICE or higher.There are a lot of foreigners and out-of-towners coming in Seattle and buying/investing.

It is also possible that we would never actually live in the property, depending on our work assignments in the future (career foreign service, so going back to D.C. is likely, but not definite).

Properties that attract a lot of foreigners should do reasonably well as well, especially if the US $$ declines. 

I guess ideally I would like a country that offers long term foreign residents healthcare into their system also.I heard of a woman who bought a stone house surrounded by lots of land in Estonia for about 17K and it went up to over 30K within 2 years.The reason I need solitude is for personal reasons, and because I will work remotely, great internet access is essential.Thanks,Karolyn